Let's Turn Things Around
by Catheryne
Summary: Lucas is adored by Smallville High. Clark loves Chloe. Lana loves Clark. Chloe loves the Luthor men. (Chlucas)
1. Part 1

Disclaimer: Characters not mine. Author's Note: Let's look at Smallville after we shake it up like a snow globe.  
  
Let's Turn Things Around  
  
One Year Ago  
  
"Oh what a hottie!"  
  
Chloe Sullivan's eyebrow arched when Lana Lang commented on the new boy strutting into the halls of Smallville High. Chloe stood by her locker with her two best friends. Somehow, Lana Lang, the fairy princess, fluttered her pretty gossamer wings and popped into the picture. She had no doubt that it was because Chloe was flanked by her two really handsome guys.  
  
Pete frowned and turned to Lana, who was by now hanging very closely to Clark. "You think Lucas Luthor is hot?"  
  
Lana smiled her innocent smile, blinked a few times to showcase long dark eyelashes. Clark looked down at her with concern, because never let is be said that there was another gorgeous rival other than the given Whitney Fordman, may he rest in peace.  
  
"Well, you know, I kinda do," Lana answered in an expression that was the mixture of angelic and seductive, peppered with some teasing and humor, with a dash of shyness.  
  
'Bravo!' Chloe thought. Lana Lang was able to crush Clark Kent and make him salivate more at the same time. Chloe shifted when she saw Clark looking at her with something she had never seen in his eyes before.  
  
Lucas started walking in their direction, and Chloe watched from the periphery of her vision as Clark fidgeted on the balls of his feet. The four watched as Lucas as the student body parted like the Red Sea to allow the Luthor through. One of the students dropped his books and knelt down to pick them out. Lucas stopped beside him and looked down. For a moment, Chloe thought that the rich kid would help his new schoolmate. However, Lucas kicked at one notebook and said cuttingly, "Get out of my way."  
  
Chloe's eyebrow arched and she murmured to Pete, "Arrogant bastard."  
  
Lucas Luthor looked up from the peasant at his feet. Chloe's breath hitched when Lucas' gaze went directly to her. She met his eyes steadily. She swore that she could see the tiniest smirk gracing his lips, but she could not prove it. Lucas' face was as impassive as his brother's often was.  
  
"Easy, Chloe," Pete whispered back to her, noticing the direction of Lucas' stare. "You can't hate this guy. If you had your way, he's going to be your brother-in-law."  
  
Chloe glanced quickly at Clark and Lana, but the two were too involved in their own affairs to notice. If they heard Pete, Chloe would kill him. She had not even intended for nosy Peter Ross to find out about her pointless childhood infatuation. To her relief, Lucas looked down at the guy on his feet again. The boy scrambled to pile up his books and notebooks. "Pete, shut up," she said curtly.  
  
Present  
  
Three pairs of eyes peeked out of the Torch's half-glass door, following the approach of the Luthor golden boy, the illegitimate child who had taken the high school by storm when he joined a year ago. Green eyes widened at the sight of the Luthor black sheep stopping before his locker and shrugging out of his leather jacket.  
  
Girls gathered around the popular and infamous Lucas Luthor, fawning, wanting to touch, making beautiful eyes. Lucas remained impassive as he handed his jacket to the servant following him around. He tossed the keys to his bike to the man and bid him wait there until he returned. Everyone knew Lucas would only come back when it's time to go home.  
  
"He's so perfect!"  
  
"He's so fine!"  
  
The teenage girls folded their hands in front of them and breathed deeply to plump up their bosoms. They heard that Lucas liked older women. They heard that before Lucas had been rediscovered by his family, he was living with an Italian countess who divorced her husband because she had fallen head over heels for Lucas.  
  
"Oh, to have his arms wrapped around me," one of the girls declared.  
  
A cheerleader retorted, "Not before I have him first, bitch!"  
  
There was a screech. Lucas turned around to see his groupies now rolling on the floor, tearing each other's hair out.  
  
The Torch doors opened to reveal Clark, Pete and Chloe watching the battle of the girls. "Man, Clark, you gotta pull them away from each other!" Pete exclaimed.  
  
"Well help me!"  
  
The strength of Pete and Clark together was barely enough to break up the brawl. Chloe stood in the middle of the hallway, having forgotten about the violence that stemmed from Lucas, and stared at his retreating back. It was so pathetic, really. She was by far more intelligent than any of the girls in the school, but she was no different. After getting over her long distance infatuation with the first resident billionaire, Chloe had found herself falling for the amazingly incredible artist and rebel.  
  
Lucas had of course always been an asshole. They became classmates in art and the guy stole all her colors before she was even through. He thought he owned the world, and Chloe snapped at him to buy his own paints. The next day, he brought with him a personal assistant. He even made it a point to get the man to take paints from her little station. She was so furious she asked that she be placed in another class. To no avail. When presentation came, Lucas showed a picture of a bowl of fruits.  
  
She hated him so much. When she was alone in the room, Chloe went to his station and turned his pages on the easel. She came across a portrait of her, crude, but recognizable. And then Lucas appeared in the doorway and said, "When you find odd and freakish objects, Sullivan, what do you do?"  
  
"Collect them," she had answered breathlessly.  
  
"There we go. I'll be adding that to my collection."  
  
And Chloe had been furious again. But she had never liked him more.  
  
"Chloe!" the cry snapped her out of her thoughts. "Chloe, come on!"  
  
Clark was then pulling her back into the Torch office by the elbow. She focused on Clark now, and the way he seemed so terrified that the girls would touch her. Pete had run inside before them, and he was panting, staring out at the field. Her back was pressed against the door, where the girls were pounding. They wanted to get revenge on Clark and Pete, for breaking up the fight, for making Lucas get away. Chloe gasped for breath, staring at Clark who was just now leaning closer and closer to her.  
  
This was exactly what she had been afraid of since she saw that look a year ago. When he hooked up with Lana, she thought she'd be safe from this. Lana had been pining for Clark for so long. She could hear Pete muttering in the background, "Aww Clark man! Told you not to even try. Burn, man. Burn!"  
  
Clark looked at Chloe's face, the lines of her eyes, her lips, her nose. When he moved in for his kiss, Chloe held him back with a hand on his chest. "You have a girlfriend, Clark. And we're best friends."  
  
"Burn," Pete finished with a whisper.  
  
"You realize that I've been in love with you for a year now, don't you?" Clark pleaded, hurting.  
  
"Like you've been in love with Lana for several years?"  
  
"Chloe-"  
  
She held up a hand for silence. "We'll forget this ever happened," she told him. With a wave to Pete, she slipped out of the Torch office. It was too easy for her to slip away, just pretend to be one of the deranged Lucas admirers.  
  
"Man, I told you, didn't I?"  
  
"Shuttup, Pete."  
  
"Well you know that girl's had her head up on the Luthor clouds for too long, Clark! You're only going to hurt yourself if you keep this up."  
  
"Look!" Clark exclaimed. "Chloe is just fantasizing about rich mysterious strangers because she's young. Someday she'll grow into me just like I've grown into her."  
  
"What about your girlfriend, Clark?"  
  
Clark didn't hear the door open, or see the girl that stepped inside. "She was a dream, Pete. You know dreams aren't as good as they seem when you've finally reached it."  
  
The sniffle coming from behind him made Clark turn around. He saw Lana blinking away tears. "Then why don't you let Chloe chase after her dreams Clark? Maybe after she gets disillusioned she'll let you kiss her."  
  
"Lana!"  
  
Lana Lang raced out of the door, leaving a dazed Clark and a frowning Pete. "Well that does it, Clark! You just made our high school life a living hell." 


	2. Part 2

Part 2  
  
Chloe read the note that the Torch adviser left for them. She liked Mrs Grey because she never minded what they wrote. Mrs Grey just gave them possible topics to write about every week. She supposed that their adviser got into a bit of trouble whenever Chloe experimented with different radical styles of writing. Still, Mrs Grey was cool enough to leave them alone. That's what true journalism is.  
  
"We're supposed to interview Lionel Luthor," she read to her team of reporters. "He just donated five science achievement scholarships to Smallville High."  
  
Sports writer Pete Ross seemed put off. Chloe knew why but for the life of her, she wouldn't understand as much as her other friends told Pete they did. After all, Pete always talked about how the Luthors cheated them out of a cream corn factory. From what she found out from the town records, the Rosses went to the Luthors to sell their cream corn factory. It was all a matter of business that Pete was sourgraping about.  
  
Clark Kent still looked a bit nervous and at the same time betrayed. Chloe was certain that it wasn't about the interview though. If she asked Clark later what she just said, Chloe would bet her nice collection of rock samples that he would not be able to tell her. Clark tended to brood about something to the exclusion of the rest of the world. Right now, the nervous most likely was because of Lana and the betrayed because Chloe did not want to kiss him. Clark would want an apology of course. Chloe would have to practice kneeing him.  
  
Contributor Lana Lang glared at Clark in the intervals between looking at Chloe and taking down notes. If she asked Lana, Lana would give her the minutes of this unofficial meeting. Lana Lang tended to do everything without being asked, simply because she thought if she did not, then everything would fall apart. In the area of self-esteem, Chloe could vote Lana queen. Of course, it was not as apparent to those who only listened to Lana, because of what Lana usually shared about being left by those she loved. Heaven forbid Clark completely leave Lana Lang! She would have another notch on the 'Feel sorry for me' bedpost.  
  
Last but not the least, Whitney Fordman settled back in his chair with a look of sheer relaxation. He took note of nothing and did not react at the assignment. Sometimes, Chloe just wanted to kick Whitney out of the Torch office, because the only thing he did was take up space. Really, if Whitney did not know a lot of her dirty laundry, Chloe would have banned him from using the Torch's resources.  
  
"I know that you all have a lot of homework because finals week is approaching, but this is the rush of being part of a newspaper. Enjoy the adrenaline while you can," Chloe began before handing out the assignments.  
  
"Pete, you will cover the try outs for a new quarterback."  
  
Pete glanced at Whitney Fordman, who was still slouching there. Whitney raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "Don't look at me, man. I don't care. It's not like the coach will find anyone better than me."  
  
Lana placed her pen down and cocked her head to the side prettily, so that the hair on the side of her head fell to her shoulder, curtaining in a way that covered a quarter of her face. "The coach really kicked you out for unseemly behavior?"  
  
Whitney shrugged. "They expect us to charge and trample on the opposite team while we're playing but we're not allowed to have a brawl every now and then? How fair is that?"  
  
Lana nodded in understanding. Chloe arched an eyebrow at Whitney and said, "I'm sure it's a delightful and action-packed story."  
  
"You bet it is!"  
  
"Moving on," Chloe cut off. "Lana will of course be in charge of covering everything about the dance, from the preparation to whatever happens at least a day after."  
  
Again, Lana pumped her head is approval and scribbled away.  
  
"Well that's it. Let's go to our classes."  
  
Everyone stood up except for Whitney, who still sat slack. Pete and Lana left the room. Chloe eyed Clark, who hung by the door, blocking the way.  
  
"Chloe, we need to talk," Clark told her. He looked at Whitney. "In private." Whitney ignored him, so Clark just frowned and continued, "You didn't assign anything to me. I assume the two of us are interviewing Lionel Luthor."  
  
"Oh no Clark," Chloe responded. "I'm taking the unemployed jock over here." Chloe ignored the small ball of paper that hit her on the elbow from Whitney's direction.  
  
"He's not even part of the Torch!"  
  
"Oh he is until you shape up and fix things with Lana. I don't care how you do it, but you're off big projects until you make certain that you don't cause tension inside the staff. It's what we call teamwork."  
  
Clark stomped his foot down. "That isn't fair and you know it!"  
  
Finally, Whitney unfolded his height from the chair and approached Clark, patted him on the back. "It's not like you were very fair to Lana Lang, Kent."  
  
"This conversation doesn't include you," Clark retorted sharply to him.  
  
Chloe watched dispassionately as the two glared at each other. The door of the office opened and Lucas Luthor walked in with a wad of crumpled papers. Chloe's gaze drifted to the yummy A-hole, as she referred to him in her brain. Lucas did not pay attention to any of the occupants of the room. He went straight for the trash bin and dumped his burden there, and then just as smoothly left the room.  
  
"You don't even belong here. I don't know why you keep hanging around Chloe so much!"  
  
"Chloe, can you tell Kent why I'm here."  
  
"Sure, run to the girl."  
  
"Really. Tell me Kent, who's scampering after the girl?"  
  
"Scamper. Hey, that's an SAT word. Guess you're not as football brained as I thought!"  
  
Chloe took a deep breath and smiled. Lucas used the trash can in the Torch. And for the first time, it was an encounter where he didn't say anything mean about her and her friends. Her day was made. 


	3. Part 3

Part 3  
  
Whitney tossed his folded up jacket into his locker. He grabbed his books and jammed them into his backpack before turning back to Chloe. "Ready?"  
  
Chloe nodded. "Did you remember to bring your own pencils this time?"  
  
Whitney grinned and said in a voice not his own, "Rule one of any class, Mr Fordman: Bring a writing instrument."  
  
"Shhhh!" Chloe giggled. "You're going to get in trouble again if you don't stop doing impressions of teachers you know aren't too happy with you."  
  
"I wouldn't have taken art class if your dad didn't ask my mom to. Seriously, Chloe, you're old enough to go hunting in the fields for who knows what and your dad doesn't trust you to stay in school for a late class?"  
  
"You think that's not something I've asked myself for like a billion trillion times?" Chloe retorted.  
  
"Don't look now, Chloe, but Lana Lang is sniffling at her locker."  
  
Of course Chloe Sullivan would look. That phrase should be scratched out of everyone's vocabulary. When you tell a person not to look, the person will absolutely want to look. Whitney sighed in exasperation when Chloe made a beeline for Lana. He followed, dragging his feet behind him.  
  
"Lana," Chloe exclaimed, "are you all right?"  
  
"She's crying," Whitney muttered to update her.  
  
Chloe shushed him again. Lana removed her pink flowered handkerchief from her face and looked at Chloe and Whitney with moist eyes. Whitney noted that her thick dark eyelashes were clumped together because of her tears. Hot damn. Lana Lang really was pretty. He hadn't really noticed that before, only heard it from his teammates. Whitney tuned in to the girl's conversation again.  
  
"I just-I just-want you to know, Ch-Chloe. I don't-don't blame you! It's all my-fault. People leave me. People I love-leave me!"  
  
Chleo resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Clark's acting like an immature brat, Lana. He's going to realize what he's losing and come back to you."  
  
"I know!" Lana cried. "He's gonna-gonna know that it's a stupid deci- decision."  
  
'Well that wasn't insulting at all,' Chloe thought wryly.  
  
And then Lana threw her arms around Chloe and sobbed. Chloe returned the hug and patted the other girl's back.  
  
Whitney was captivated by the sight. Chloe Sullivan and Lana Lang locked in a firm embrace. The context was just going to dampen the rocking sight, so he forced the reasons to fade. A few seconds later, he noticed the change around him. Whitney glanced around to see jocks, science geeks, math wizards, music freaks and even some girls gaping at the two. Whitney looked back again.  
  
Ah, there it was. That was what he couldn't put his finger on earlier. Lana was standing on the tips of her toes, making her dark rose skirt hike up at the back of her thighs. Chloe's blouse bunched up, showing her white stomach. That was not a skimpy blouse that she was wearing. Whitney wondered why Chloe's tummy showed. He followed the crumpled line of the blouse and saw that her breasts were mashed against Lana's, thus folding the front of her blouse between them.  
  
Whitney moved to stand in front of Chloe and Lana and turned slowly to glare at the audience. He fixed his stare on the jocks, who after several minutes recognized his look. His teammates then facilitated in dispersing the crowd.  
  
Whitney touched Chloe's shoulder. "We have to get to class."  
  
Chloe pulled away from Lana and smiled. "That's right."  
  
"Hey Lana," Whitney said as a form of goodbye, "bummer about Kent."  
  
"Ummm. Yeah," the cheerleader responded. "Thanks, I guess."  
  
~~  
  
"Please turn to a clean sketch area," the instructor said from the front. "Take your pencils. Rule one of any class."  
  
Whitney turned to Chloe with raised eyebrows. He noted that Chloe's grin was a little bit sad. He looked around him and found out why.  
  
A knock sounded on the door. Mr Patchett looked at the glass door and saw the principal's administrative assistant. "Silence while I attend to this. Breathe deeply. Feel the spirits of the great artists of history course through your veins." Mr Pratchett went outside.  
  
Whitney walked over to Chloe's seat. Chloe shook her head. "Does he have to say that every day? Seriously, Whit, I am freaked out."  
  
"Chloe Sullivan freaked out? Impossible!"  
  
Chloe smiled. "What are you doing here? Better get back to your seat or Mr Pratchett will have a reason to breathe down your neck again."  
  
He chucked her chin teasingly. "I came by to tell you to smile, Chloe. Having Luthor absent doesn't make it a bad class."  
  
She stuck her tongue out quickly and sat up straight when Mr Pratchett walked in again. Whitney was frozen on the spot until Chloe elbowed him. He sat down on half of Chloe's seat. "Ugh. As if I won't fall off!"  
  
"You and your big hips," Whitney whispered.  
  
"It seems that I am needed for a very important meeting. There is no substitute teacher available so I will instead give you your special assignments. You will create any art piece. I give you the freedom to pick your medium and your theme. But you will work in pairs."  
  
Whitney nodded. Of course he and Chloe will be partners.  
  
"I have taken the liberty of assigning you to your partners. We will be working with the morning art class so some of you will be assigned to students from that class."  
  
"Great," Chloe muttered. Clark, Lana and Pete were in that class. With her luck, she will end up with Clark and do a dance away from him every time they need to work.  
  
"You will work on this in your free time. Some of you have more than the others due to misbehavior." Mr Pratchett looked at Whitney again.  
  
"I swear, Whit, this guy has a crush on you."  
  
Whitney made a gagging sound.  
  
"I will read out the names and leave the arrangements up to you. Lian Chan and Jenny Goldberg. Mary Jameson and Alfred Wheeler. Lana Lang and Pete Ross."  
  
"Mr Pratchett, those are all students from the other class!"  
  
"I'm sorry. Moving on. Clark Kent and Whitney Fordman."  
  
"Awww hell!"  
  
"Have fun, Whitney," Chloe murmured.  
  
"Chloe Sullivan and Lucas Luthor."  
  
Her jaw literally dropped. Chloe's breath stopped. She blacked out. Seriously. Whitney had to break her spine hitting her on the back.  
  
"Oh my God," she murmured. "Oh my God."  
  
"Don't hyperventilate."  
  
"My grades are so dead."  
  
"You're not happy? I thought you liked the guy."  
  
"Lucas Luthor is cute but I will not trust him with my grades, Whitney! The guy doesn't need to study. He said that himself! He's attending school for the sake of attending! Why does he have to work on an art project when he has billions of dollars waiting until he turns eighteen!"  
  
Mr Pratchett left the room. The class stood up to leave. Chloe and Whitney were left in the room. Chloe slid her pens back inside her bag.  
  
"Are we going to the interview Lionel Luthor now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Whitney took a deep breath. "We've got to postpone that. I have to run after Mr Pratchett. I've gotta change partners, Chloe."  
  
"Oh!" Chloe nodded in understanding. "You should. I don't want you to suffer being stuck with Clark. I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah. Don't leave without me," he cautioned her. "Your dad will kill me."  
  
"I wouldn't dare." She waved him out the door and then checked her bag for her tape recorder, her notebook, her pen and the list of questions she was going to ask Lionel Luthor. "Sucker!" 


	4. Part 4

Chloe looked up at the high ceilings of the manor. The butler had ushered  
  
her towards the stairs and given her directions to Lionel's study. Before  
  
she could even acknowledge, the silent man had slipped away subtly, leaving  
  
Chloe to figure out the rest on her own.  
  
She climbed the stairs and opened the first door that she saw. Like any  
  
other part of the house, the room was a bit too cool for her liking. There  
  
were equipment arranged every which way, and once she considered what they  
  
seemed to be for, she realized she was in the wrong room.  
  
It looked like a gym, and from the towel hanging by the door, it was not an  
  
empty gym. She searched the room for its occupant, so that she could ask  
  
further directions to her interviewee. Her heart stopped when her eyes  
  
landed on Lucas Luthor doing pull ups right at the end of the room.  
  
His biceps strained at the effort. Sweat rolled from his neck down his  
  
chest. Chloe's eyes followed the trail until it was absorbed by his shorts.  
  
"Disgusting," she said aloud, ignoring the thrill that ran down her spine.  
  
Lucas noticed her presence and smirked. "Miss me so soon?"  
  
"I'm looking for your dad," she replied defensively.  
  
"Yet here you are."  
  
"How do I get to your father's study?" Chloe asked in exasperation.  
  
Lucas dropped on the floor and ambled towards her. He held out his hand and  
  
Chloe grabbed the towel and threw it in his direction. Lucas caught it and  
  
patted his neck dry. "Someone whispered to me that you probably liked me.  
  
I'm inclined to believe him."  
  
Chloe gasped. "You wish!" She turned her back on him and left the room.  
  
"But I haven't told you where to find my father!" he called out from behind  
  
her.  
  
Chloe ignored him and fled from that corridor, turning and entering random  
  
doors, not caring if she got lost for a decade in the dark shadowed hallways  
  
as long as she escaped from the burning humiliation of that incident.  
  
An errie orange light captivated her from afar. She walked towards it and  
  
stopped at the closed door from under which the light could be seen. Chloe  
  
pushed the door open and wandered in.  
  
There were various rock samples preserved under glass cases, photographs of  
  
the mysterious and clippings of unexplained incidents. Chloe found herself  
  
immersed in a world of suspicion and intrigue as she pored through each of  
  
the articles from different parts of the country and the world.  
  
When she had finished reading about a strange animal in Mexico that killed  
  
cattle by eating its insides while leaving the skin untouched, Chloe  
  
shivered and turned around, only to stumble back with a yelp of surprise.  
  
Lex Luthor was standing not five inches from her, regarding her with an  
  
intense gaze. "Like you, I too am attracted to the strange and mysterious,"  
  
be began. "Chloe Sullivan, I presume."  
  
Chloe's open mouthed amazement at meeting Lex Luthor hindered her from  
  
making a snappy response. At once her childhood crush on the young rebel  
  
rushed forth, almost choking her in terrible excitement. "Yyyeah."  
  
"A woman of few words," he said with a friendly smile. Chloe instinctively  
  
glanced down at his hand and saw that he was holding an issue of the Torch.  
  
He noticed the direction of her gaze and nodded. "I find it interesting how  
  
teenagers view matters of science."  
  
Chloe frowned. "Mr Luthor, are you insulting me?"  
  
"Do you find yourself insulted, Chloe? If you do, I apologize. I am simply  
  
commenting on the editorial this week. I've been a fan since I arrived. This  
  
disappoints."  
  
Chloe shook her head. "I have to go interview your father. Can you tell me  
  
where to find him?"  
  
Lex took her arm and led her out of the room. "You have so much potential,"  
  
he said while they were walking. You're more than this excuse for an  
  
editorial. You seemed like you were trying to pacify the school  
  
administration."  
  
"You don't know anything about me."  
  
"Turn here." Lex led her back to the hallway she had come from, and stopped  
  
them before the large doors of Lionel's study. "I should be pulling you away  
  
from him, not leading you straight to the man."  
  
"Thanks for showing me the way, Mr Luthor. This is what I came for."  
  
Lex nodded and left her to her devices, hoping that she could stand her  
  
ground against Lionel. Somehow, he could not doubt her ability to hold her  
  
own. He proceeded to his brother's room, where he saw Lucas freshly showered  
  
and picking out clothes.  
  
"She's a lovely spirited young woman," Lex started.  
  
Lucas glared at Lex. "She's a little girl."  
  
"Yes," Lex admitted. "Too young for me. Maybe in a year or two it won't  
  
sound so bad. I have ethics on this," he assured his brother. "But what  
  
about dad?"  
  
Lucas drew out a pair of jeans and a black shirt. "What do you want?"  
  
"I know what's going on in your school even if you treat it like it's your  
  
own private kingdom. Why do you feel the need to be nasty to her?"  
  
Without looking at his brother, Lucas took a paperweight from his bedside  
  
table and threw it in Lex's direction. Lex easily dodged, and the rock  
  
exploded upon impact on the stone wall.  
  
"You need to work on your temper," Lex drawled.  
  
"Get out of my room."  
  
~~  
  
That evening, after Chloe Sullivan left a suitably harassed and impressed  
  
Lionel Luthor, the old man called his sons to his study. Within five  
  
minutes, Lex appeared in the study and stood in front of Lionel's table  
  
wearing one of his best Armanis. Lionel nodded in acknowledgment of Lex's  
  
prompt arrival.  
  
Almost ten minutes later, Lucas strutted in wearing jogging pants and a  
  
t-shirt. He paused when he saw Lex's appearance, then smirked. "The  
  
overachieving son shames me again," came his offhand comment. "You'll have  
  
to forgive my tardiness. I had to finish my rounds."  
  
Lex shook his head and ignored Lucas. Lionel smirked at his sons. "Well you  
  
must be wondering why I've called you both here."  
  
"Actually I wasn't," Lucas replied. "Lex probably is. I'm just waiting for  
  
you to dismiss us."  
  
Lex looked at his brother. "You shouldn't have bothered to come if that's  
  
how you feel, Lucas."  
  
Lucas scoffed. "Like you're really interested in what the old man has to  
  
say."  
  
"The old man sent for his attorneys. He's drafting his will," Lex informed  
  
Lucas.  
  
"Well by all means, speak up, dad!" Lucas exclaimed.  
  
Lionel stood to be at eye level with his sons. "I'm glad you are both so  
  
concerned with what happens to our considerable wealth." Lionel picked up a  
  
sheaf of papers. "So far, Lex has been the one to show more interest in the  
  
company. He has also shown his capability in-"  
  
"A master's degree and some merit awards," Lucas finished, injecting a good  
  
amount of boredom in his voice.  
  
"As opposed to your trophies in bowling and cycling, Lucas?" Lex inquired.  
  
"Boys, boys," Lionel drawled. "It's appalling to be hissing at each other  
  
like that. You're Luthors. Have some dignity, why don't you." After a  
  
dramatic pause, he continued, "I was visited earlier by a high school girl,  
  
interviewed me. Chloe I think her name was. Very sharp girl. Spunky."  
  
Lucas' eyes narrowed. He should have known. Lex warned him too. Their father  
  
did not have an ounce of decency. He steered the conversation in another  
  
direction. "The will, dad."  
  
"Anyway, I have decided that the one who will show me how well he runs the  
  
Smallville plant will get the majority of the Luthor assets."  
  
"And how will we decide this, father? Each of us will run it for a quarter?"  
  
Lionel frowned. "That will throw off the entire management, no! You will get  
  
the chance to run the plant if you win in a little race I have devised for  
  
you."  
  
"A race?" Lex asked blandly. Lucas grinned. Lex stayed in his office too  
  
much. He was by far fitter than his Armani brother.  
  
"Going back to the reporter then. The one who snags her will get plant  
  
control."  
  
"Are you insane, dad?" Lex asked mildly.  
  
Lucas' hands fisted. "You'll treat an innocent girl as a prop? Why should I  
  
be surprised? That's what you did to my mother."  
  
Lex and Lucas' eyes met. Lucas tried his best to read his brother's  
  
expression, but Lex was as always inscrutable.  
  
"Have fun, sons." 


	5. Part 5

Part 5

Whitney watched his best friend saunter towards them at lunch the next day. Chloe wore a self-satisfied grin on her face. How dare she look so smug? Gabe Sullivan railed at him for most of the night for not delivering Chloe early enough. They had an understanding that they would go to Lionel Luthor's together, and she escaped.

When Chloe plopped down on the bench beside Pete, she greeted, "Hello all!"

She turned to Whitney with a smile. She didn't even pretend to be ashamed of what she did. Whitney shook his head. Just as he was to give her a piece of his mind, Whitney saw the youngest Luthor walking towards them. He noted with disbelief that Lucas was carrying a notebook. Whitney could bet there was nothing in that notebook.

"Chloe Sullivan."

Chloe turned around and saw Lucas heading her way. Her eyebrow arched. "What do you want?"

Whitney glanced at Chloe in surprise. This was not the Chloe heart Lucas or Lex he knew. Why was she not gushing over the prospect of Lucas getting closer to her?

"Wanted to see if you'd meet with me for the project. It's twenty percent of the grade, after all." Pete scoffed aloud. Lucas glared at him. It was the only way to get closer to Chloe. How would he know her other interests?

"May I sit with you?"

Clark shrugged. "It would be weird since we're all eating and you're not."

Lucas drew a wrapped burger from his pocket. Lana winced at how flat it looked. It was better to focus on other things, not in the way Clark seemed to be repeatedly and accidentally brushing his hand against Chloe's.

Lucas studied the crowd Chloe Sullivan hung out with. Not everyone looked like losers. Still, she could do better. Like the cheerleaders. Or the drama club.

Or him.

He noticed the gooey eyes flannel-boy was throwing at Chloe. Pete had a casual arm around Chloe's shoulder. The blonde quarterback took her hand, which made Lucas stiffen, and asked her what movie she wanted for tonight's movie night.

When Chloe said she would let Whitney choose, Lucas shook his had. All eyes turned to him.

"Chloe Sullivan and I need to work on our project."

Chloe agreed, but Lana burst out laughing. "Chloe Sullivan and Lucas Luthor need to work on a project," she mimicked. "You can call her Chloe, you know!"

Glaring at Lana to remain quiet, Chloe turned to find Lucas, amazingly enough, not pissed off. In fact, he was nodding along as if appreciating the humor.

"So can we work on the project over at your place?" he suggested. The farther away from Lex, the better.

"Let me check with my dad." Chloe's heart was skipping now. She had been prepared to be irritated by Lucas. Now completely unbidden, the yummy A-hole was becoming more attractive to her again.

'Do not expect anything,' she cautioned herself. 'Prepare for the change.' Sooner or later the charming guy would slide back into being the repulsive cum attractive person he truly was.

She dialled her father's number and frowned at the reception. "Dad?!" she said in a raised voice. "I can't hear you well. Where are you?"

Chloe stood and walked, trying to see if she could get a better signal. As she slipped farther from the group, the entire posse turned to Lucas, studying him. Lucas paid them no mind and concentrated on his burger.

He looked up only when Chloe came back. "So you ready?" he asked.

"Sure." Chloe reached to pick up her books. Her eyebrows rose when Lucas waved her away and took the books himself.

They approached the manor and Chloe remembered just how much she had always wanted for this to happen. In her dreams Lucas would drive her to his house and sweep her into his arms, then introduce her to his father. That would have been possible still if this guy was not a Luthor. Then again she might not even dream about Lucas. As Pete had said, the crush came from her fascination with the Luthors. She didn't know if that was insulting or not. From the way he said it, it definitely was no compliment.

"So," Lucas began when he ushered her in, "you'll be waiting in the salon while I get the supplies.''

"No problem." Chloe sat on the couch and looked at her surroundings. Finally, she grinned and turned, hoping to catch Lucas still at the door. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"This is a living room!"

Then there was that smirk that she first saw and admired in Lex Luthor. Lucas replied with, "Never when my father is in the premises. Call it salon. It takes him back to his roots."

Chloe shook her head, chuckling. When Lucas had left, Chloe stood up and walked around the room. Even in that most public of their rooms, Lionel had displayed what appeared to be priceless artifacts. She wondered if the Luthors would really miss one of those items if she slipped them in her bag.

"You enjoy archaeology, Ms Sullivan?"

Chloe turned and saw Lex Luthor stepping into the 'salon.' "Hard to tell," she responded, "since I've never unburied any secret treasure or joined an excavation."

"You think you'd want to?"

"Discover ancient secrets and all that? Hell yeah!"

Lex's eyebrow arched. Chloe's belly fluttered. She was over her Lex crush right? She sighed. Was a Lex crush ever truly over? "When I finance one of these things, I'll be sure to ask your father to let you go. Right now, I do have an invitation for you." Chloe waited. She did wonder idly why Lex appeared to have sought her out. Then again, she was told never to look a gift horse in the mouth. Looking at Lex's mouth was still captivating though. "A cup of coffee."

"Not as exciting as archaeology, but good enough. Unfortunately, I have a project to work on with your brother. Can't leave."

Lex nodded and to Chloe's surprise, instead of walking away, he walked closer to her. He extended his hand. "We're just going to the kitchen. I have wonderful beans imported from about six countries. I'll let you pick your poison."

Her mouth watered at the thought. Lex Luthor's beans had to be delicious! She flushed at the implication of those words. She gazed at him for a long moment, then put her hand in his. "I'd love to try some."

He led her to the kitchen, where miraculously, the maid had a cup of coffee prepared for Chloe. She glanced at Lex askance, and he grinned. "I took the liberty of having them prepare a cup of each. Try this first."

Chloe accepted the cup gratefully and inhaled the wonderful aroma. Her eyes closed. She reverently tipped the cup to her mouth and moaned as the hot liquid slipped down her throat. Her eyes fluttered open to see Lex looking at her intently, his face close to hers. "Do you want to try another one?"

"I'll die if I do," she breathed.

The loud and rude clearing of a throat made Lex straighten. Chloe jumped in surprise. Lucas waited at the door with his arms folded in front of him.

"Your partner is here," Lex said unnecessarily. "I was going to invite you to my library. I have some new curiosities I'm sure you'd be interested in."

Chloe brightened. "You'll let me feature them in the Torch?"

"Of course. Anyway, feel free to drop by and inspect them anytime."

Lucas strode in and stopped beside Chloe. "Shouldn't you be off polishing dad's shoes, Lex?"

Chloe's head whipped towards Lucas. "Lucas, that was ru—"

"I have a paying job," Lex parried. "I do recall that you're still only a mouth to feed so maybe that's a good start for you."

Damn. 'Luthor men can act like bitches!' she thought.

"I'll think about it, Lex," Lucas returned. He turned to Chloe and said, "Would you mind stepping outside for a bit? I have something to tell my brother."

Chloe shrugged and did as she was asked. She really had no wish to caught between two stubborn Luthors. The thought sent a thrill up her spine. Why did everything Luthor remind her of roses and silk and handcuffs? She stayed just outside the door, trying to catch bits and pieces of the brothers' confrontation.

"Don't use the girl," she heard Lucas say.

"Don't call me on something you're doing yourself," Lex answered coldly.

"What do I care about the plant when I'm leaving this wretched town no matter what your father does?" Lucas demanded. "You're the golden boy, Lex, not me."

There was silence for a long moment. Chloe realized why the conversation stopped. She quickly jumped away from the door in time to see Lucas storm out with his leather jacket swung over his arm. He shrugged it on and glared at her.

"You coming?"

Chloe's eyes widened. She nodded, following after him and hopping behind him on the motorcycle. She clutched him as he sped away from the town and drove through the fields. She didn't know Lucas even knew the dirt road that passed through the fields. He didn't speak. It would have been useless anyway. They would not hear each other above the whip of the wind.

Finally, about ten minutes later, they stopped on a clearing. He got off the bike and sat on the ground. Chloe gingerly walked over to him and plopped down beside him. The girls at school would freak out if they found out she was caught in this drop-dead romantic situation with Lucas Luthor.

"You know anyone who says that home is out there?" Chloe did, but she didn't say anything. "I don't believe in that."

Now she could speak and still allow him to share his thoughts. "You don't?"

Now he looked like a little boy. Gone was the rebellion and disgust that usually graced his face in school and even in his own home. "I don't have a home anywhere."

"That's not true."

"What do you know?"

"There's always a home, Lucas," she reasoned. "No one can keep you from creating it."

"That's easy for you to say. Smallville is your home."

He could not be more wrong there. "No. Right now, my dad is my home. We can go anywhere and I'd be home because I choose my home to be with someone I love."

"See?" he replied. His eyes were stark, sad and angry at the same time. "I don't have a home."

Chloe grabs her bag and gets a sketch pad. "Show me home, Lucas."

They stared at the blank page for a long time. He grabbed it and poised the pencil high over the paper. Then Lucas gave up and stood. He helped her up. "I want a cheesecake."

Chloe took the materials and placed them back in her bag. "The Talon has some."

He shook his head. "I know the best place to get cheesecake." Chloe stared at him. "Are you coming?"

"Do you want me to?"

He shrugged, showing her he didn't care one way or the other. "It's up to you." Chloe's eyebrow arched. Lucas sighed, showing his disgust. "I'd like the company," he allowed reluctantly.


End file.
